Scotland needs credible and consistent alternatives to prison, says Brown
Scotland needs “credible and consistent” alternatives to custodial sentences to reduce the number of people being sent to prison, the justice secretary has said.
Keith Brown acknowledged that community justice alternatives could be improved, saying “we’ve got a job on our hands” to do that.
Speaking to the justice and social affairs magazine 1919, Mr Brown said reducing the number of people on remand would be a priority.
MSPS have noted the number of remand prisoners has been growing since the start of the pandemic.
Between April 2020 and April 2021, the remand population in Scotland grew by 78 per cent.
Mr Brown told the magazine: “I think there’s relatively widespread agreement and it’s certainly true in the police as well, certainly the police that I’ve spoken to, that for some people prison is not the best place.
“If it’s an addiction that’s at the root of the issue or if there’s a mental health issue, there are often better ways to accommodate that person.
“But also, in terms of community justice, we know that some of the community justice disposals are very effective, so the recidivism, the re-convictions, for those that have community justice settlements can be lower, are lower, than for the general prison population.
“So I think it’s finding the right solution for the right people and I think we have generally the support of the police in doing that.”
He continued: “There is a challenge as well to make sure that the community justice options are more credible and consistent, so sometimes the courts might be reluctant to go down that road, so we’ve got a job on our hands, which we’re looking at just now. We’re currently reviewing the community justice strategy.”
The Scottish Government is consultingonchangingthebail and remand system to reduce shortperiodsofimprisonment.
Mrbrownsaid:“there’snota quicker fix than that, because we don’t have the power, quite rightly, in the Scottish Government, to change what the courts decide.
"If the courts decide to send somebody to prison, that’s what they’ve decided.
“But the bail and release proposals that we’ve got will seek to change the nature of remand such that it’s only in certain circumstances that it’s used."